The invention relates to a beverage holder.
Such beverage holders are known per se and are provided for installation, for example, in a dashboard of a motor vehicle. The known beverage holders have a pull-out portion that is guided displaceably back and forth in the manner of a drawer, by means of a slide guide, between an inserted position in which it is not in use and an extended in-use position. In the inserted not-in-use position, the pull-out portion is recessed in the dashboard of the motor vehicle and terminates flush with the dashboard, especially by means of a cover panel. In the extended in-use position, the pull-out portion projects from the dashboard. The pull-out portion has one or more insertion openings for the insertion of a beverage holder, which openings, in the extended in-use position of the pull-out portion in which it projects from the dashboard, are accessible and can be used for the insertion of a beverage holder. Beverage holders may be, for example, a drinks can, a cup, beaker or the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a beverage holder which can be adapted to a given installation space in and behind a dashboard.
In keeping with these objects and with others which will become apparent hereinafter, one feature of the present invention resides, briefly stated, in a beverage holder which has a pull-out portion that has an insertion opening for insertion of a beverage holder; a slide guide which guides said pull-out portion displaceable back and forth as a drawer between an inserted non-in-use position and an extended in-use position, said slide guide being formed as a curved guide that displaceably guides said pulled-out portion at a start of an extension movement with a large vertical component and toward an end of the extension movement with an increasingly horizontal component, said pull-out portion including a support having a rotation bearing for a beverage holder inserted in said insertion opening, with an axis of rotation of said rotation beverage bearing having a position selected from a substantially vertical position and a substantially inclined position forward in a direction of extension when said pull-out portion has been extended.
The displacement path of the pull-out portion on extension thereof, starting from the inserted position of the pull-out portion in which it is not in use, extends initially upwards or obliquely upwards. As the extension movement continues, the direction of displacement of the pull-out portion by the curved guide increasingly changes to the horizontal. In this, the direction of displacement does not have to be exclusively horizontal, even when the fully extended in-use position of the pull-out has been reached; instead the direction of displacement of the pull-out portion can also extend at an angle to the horizontal direction even at the end of the extension movement. The terms used to illustrate the invention that define spatial direction, such as xe2x80x9cupwardsxe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9chorizontalxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cverticalxe2x80x9d are to be understood as relative to a proposed installation positions of the beverage holder.
As a result of the curved guide of the pull-out portion according to the invention, the space required for the beverage holder in a notional approximately horizontal plane or in a direction approximately perpendicular to the dashboard in and behind the dashboard is reduced. Of course, there must be available for the beverage holder an installation space that is directed downwards in a curved shape behind the dashboard. By means of its curved guide, the beverage holder according to the invention is adapted to a given installation space behind a dashboard of a motor vehicle.
As a result of the curved guide, the pull-out portion of the beverage holder according to the invention slopes away to the rear, xe2x80x9crearxe2x80x9d being intended to mean relative to the extension movement of the pull-out portion. This has the consequence that the height of the insertion opening for the beverage holder in a region of the insertion opening is reduced, xe2x80x9ca rear regionxe2x80x9d being intended to mean a region of the insertion opening face the dashboard in the extended in-use position of the pull-out portion and located to the rear in the direction of extension of the pull-out portion. In order to support an inserted beverage holder reliably and at sufficient height against tipping over, claim 1 provides a support having a rotation bearing for a beverage holder inserted in the insertion opening. The axis of rotation of the rotation bearing in the in-use position of the pull-out portion extends approximately vertically or inclined forwards relative to the vertical in the direction of extension. In order to insert a beverage holder into the insertion opening, the support in a pull-out portion that has been extended to the in-use position is rotated backwards into the rear region of the insertion opening. The backwards-rotated support projects upwards above the pull-out portion and supports a beverage holder inserted in the insertion opening in the rear region of the insertion opening above the pull-out portion. As a result of the backwards-rotated support, the inserted beverage holder is supported and held reliably against tipping over. A further advantage of the rotatable support is that it enables the insertion opening to be widened sideways. As a result of the rotatable support, the diameter of the insertion opening can be increased beyond the width of the pull-out portion.
In accordance with another feature of the present invention, the beverage holder has a pulled-out portion that has an insertion opening for insertion of a beverage holder; a slide guide for guiding said pulled-out portion displaceably back and forth as a drawer between an inserted not-in-use position and an extended in-use position, said slide guide being a curved guide that displaceably guides said pulled-out portion at a start of an extension movement with a large vertical component and toward an end of said extension movement with an increasingly horizontal component, said pulled-out portion including a support that, in a support position, is located in a rear peripheral region of said insertion opening and above said pulled-out portion and is recessed in said pulled-out portion in a non-supporting position.
When the beverage holder is designed in accordance with the present invention it provides a support that can be moved from a non-supporting position to a support position. In the support position, the support is located in the rear portion of the peripheral region fo the insertion opening above the pull-out portion. The support supports a beverage holder inserted in the insertion opening in the rear region of the insertion opening above the pull-out portion, so that the beverage holder inserted in the insertion opening is held securely against tipping over. The support supports a drink container inserted in the insertion opening in that region of its periphery in which the height of the insertion opening in the pull-out portion is reduced as a result of the curved guide thereof. In a non-supporting position, the support is recessed in the pull-out portion, which means that the support does not project to the side of or above or below the pull-out portion. In that embodiment of the invention also, it is possible to move the support outwards to the side during movement to the support position, in order to increase the diameter of the insertion opening beyond the width of the pull-out portion.
The support that moves upwards into the support position and the rotating support can each be provided separately or jointly on a beverage holder.
The curved guide of the pull-out portion is not necessarily in the form of an arc of a circle, but a preferred embodiment of the invention does provide an arcuate guide as slide guide for the pull-out portion. An arcuate guide enables sliding guidance of the pull-out portion, which is especially also arcuate, in an arcuate housing.
A preferred embodiment of the invention provides a mechanical drive for the support, which rotates the support as the pull-out portion is being extended and/or inserted. The mechanical drive is drive by the displacement movement of the pull-out portion. The drive may comprise a control curve mechanism for its drive.
In a further development of the invention, a pivot lever is provided as a component of the drive, which, on extension and/or insertion of the pull-out portion, is pivoted and engages with the rotatable support and as it pivots it rotates the support. The pivot lever is pivoted during extension and/or insertion of the pull-out portion by means of the control curve mechanism.
An embodiment of the invention provides a pivot bearing for the support on the pull-out portion in order to guide the support on the pull-out portion movably from the non-supporting position to the support position and vice versa. A development provides an oblique pivot axis of the pivot bearing. The pivot axis is so arranged that the support is pivoted both upwards and outwards to the side, relative to the pull-out portion, upon movement from the non-supporting position to the support position. As a result, both the support height in the rear region of the insertion opening is increased, in order to hold a beverage holder inserted in the insertion opening securely against tipping over, and the insertion opening is also increased. The widening of the insertion opening makes it possible to increase the diameter of the insertion opening beyond the width of the pull-out portion.
In a preferred construction, the beverage holder according to the invention comprises a mechanical drive for the support, which drive, on extension of the pull-out portion to the in-use position, moves the support upwards and optionally outwards to the side into the support position and/or, on insertion of the pull-out portion into the not-in-use position, moves the support downwards and optionally inwards into the non-supporting position in which it is recessed in the pull-out portion. The mechanical drive may comprise, for example, a spring element, which presses the support into the support position. On extension and insertion of the pull-out portion, the support slides, for example, along an edge of a housing in which the pull-out portion is displaceably guided, so that, on extension of the pull-out portion to the in-use position, the support moves to the support position and, on insertion of the pull-out portion, the support moves to the non-supporting position in which it is recessed in the pull-out portion, each of those movements of the support being actuated by a spring. That construction of the invention has the advantage that the support moves automatically.
A development of the invention provides two supports, each of which moves upwards and outwards to different sides in the support position. That construction of the invention enables greater widening of the insertion opening as a result of movement of the supports into the support position and thus a more narrowly constructed pull-out portion and beverage holder for a given diameter of the insertion opening.
In accordance with still a further feature of the present invention, the beverage holder in accordance with present invention has a pulled-out portion having an insertion opening for insertion of a beverage holder, a slide guide for guiding said pulled-out portion displaceably back and forth as a drawer between an inserted not-in-use position and an extended in-use position, said slide guide being a curved guide that displaceably guides said pulled-out portion at a start of an extension movement with a large vertical component and toward an end of the extension movement with an increasingly horizontal component; and means for damping the extension movement of the beverage holder such that damping increases towards an end of said extension movement of said pulled-out portion.
When the beverage holder is designed in accordance with the present invention it provides increasing damping of the pull-out portion towards the end of the extension movement. The damping can increase, for example, suddenly before the fully extended in-use position of the pull-out portion has been reached or continuously (progressively), linearly or nonlinearly over the entire extension movement or over a portion at the end of the extension movement.
The purpose of increasing damping at the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion is as follows: as a result of the curved guide of the pull-out portion, the extension movement extends initially perpendicularly or steeply upwards and at the end of the extension movement extends flat or even horizontally. The effect of gravity counteracting the extension movement thus decreases during the extension movement of the pull-out portion, the pull-out portion accelerates at the end of the extension movement and, as a result, impacts abruptly at the end of the extension movement. The acceleration during extension of the pull-out portion is increased as a result of the fact that friction of the slide guide decreases during extension of the pull-out portion, since the guidance length over which the pull-out portion is guided displaceably decreases as extension progresses and consequently as the pull-out portion projects further, for example, from a housing of the beverage holder or from the dashboard of the motor vehicle. The damping that increases towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion reduces or prevents violent contact of the pull-out portion at the end of its extension movement against an end stop or the like of the slide guide. The damping that increases towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion can be provided on embodiments of the beverage holder according to the invention independently or jointly with the above-described rotatable support for a beverage holder inserted into the insertion opening of the pull-out portion.
In an embodiment of the invention, the damping that increases towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion is achieved by means of a damping element that becomes effective only towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion. This can be achieved, for example, by means of a toothed wheel of a damping element engaging a toothed rod only towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion. It is also possible for the rotating movement of the rotatable support or for the pivoting of the pivot (ever that rotates the support to be dampened when the support is rotated only towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion or when the pivot lever is pivoted only towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion. Since the mechanical drive for rotating the support derives its movement from the displacement of the pull-out portion, the damping of the rotation of the support or of the pivot lever has an effect back on the extension movement of the pull-out portion and damps the extension movement of the pull-out portion at the end of the extension path. In addition to the damping element described, which becomes effective only towards the end of the extension movement of the pull-out portion, it is also possible to provide a damping element that damps the extension movement of the pull-out portion over its entire displacement path.
The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the present invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.